Tommy Murphy's words and Neil Armfield's direction have created a theatrical masterpiece, exploring family, age and what it is to be in purgatory...or for 90-year-old Gwen, what it is to be in her new home in Queanbeyan, trying to figure out which remote control dictates the air-conditioner or the oven, as she "roasts herself alive".

Belvoir St Theatre's currently showing play Gwen in Purgatory is thrilling audiences as its sombre comedy hangs in the air long after the final bows. Its existential quality and sobering look at life tastes bitter-sweet as we laugh and cry at Gwen's house imprisoning her and the boxes hide her possessions, most importantly her kettle playing hide-and-seek, prohibiting her one minor comfort of a cup of tea.

As soon as Father Ezekial blesses the house, the family soon curse it with their brawling, greed and violence, leaving Gwen in an empty shell of a house, leaving her in Purgatory.

Among the harsh reality of the diverse elements of life, Murphy and Armfield successfully lighten the load with laughter, with us laughing at them rather than with. Get in quick to visit Gwen's home and cry with sadness and laughter at her existence, and prey you don't end up in her armchair in Purgatory. At least it's colour coordinated. As Armfield says, "Purgatory is biege"...much more bleak than previously imagined.